JFK's Mafia Connections

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For the 39th time, we prepare to mourn the death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a man who was adored and revered by millions, and assassinated on November 22, 1963. He is said to be one of the best American Presidents the country has ever had. But do you know how he got to be the most powerful man in the world? What if I told you he had some help from the Mafia?

The story begins with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., an Irish Catholic from a good family who was fortunate enough to attend Harvard University. Determined to strike it rich before the age of thirty in order to rub it in the face of the Protestants who had always spurned him, Kennedy went into banking, shipbuilding and motion pictures.

However, there was a darker side to the Kennedy patriarch. His philandering had apparently reached gargantuan proportions. His most famous conquest was actress Gloria Swanson, whom he often fantasized about marrying. The man also discovered that Prohibition was a blessing for anyone who wanted to make quick money. During that period, he smuggled alcohol to satisfy America's thirst.

Wealthy enough by the early 1930s, Kennedy became interested in politics. He supported Democrat candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 elections and when Roosevelt was elected President, he appointed Kennedy as Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission in 1934. Four years later, Kennedy was appointed American ambassador to Great Britain, taking part in the early diplomatic shenanigans of the beginning of World War II.

enter the mafia

A second key player was Sam "Momo" Giancana. Born into poverty in Chicago from Italian immigrant parents, Momo suffered the wrath of his father on many occasions. By the age of ten, the boy grew tired of the savage beatings and chose not to return home after escaping from St. Charles Reformatory. To assure his survival on the streets, he aligned himself with the 42 Gang , a group of Italian hoodlums protecting their own against Irish toughs.

Giancana began his criminal career as a courier before graduating to henchman. During the lucrative Prohibition days, the young man made alliances that — apparently coupled with strategic murders such as the famous Valentine's Day Massacre — found him on the fast track to the big leagues. Before long, the man who was described as a bloodthirsty psychopath was the right-hand man of Al Capone.

By the 1930s, Momo was one of the most important crime figures of Chicago. He still dealt with illegal liquor and had moved into unions, skimming money from pension funds. Following a prison term, the man took steps to get involved in the numbers policy racket, an illegal lottery, which until then had been confined to the black community. Within a month, Giancana had taken over the racket completely and it secured his ascent within the Mafia, making him Underboss of the most powerful Outfit in the country.

Soon, he took his gambling national and expanded his business to Cuba, South America and eventually Egypt. He started to hang out with movie stars, sports celebrities, and wealthy businessmen. Among them was Joe Kennedy. The two men had a common acquaintance during the Prohibition, but now Giancana needed the Irishman's help. Joseph Kennedy apparently owed favors to Frank Costello and his New York mob. Regarding himself as too respectable to pay back those favors, Kennedy put himself in a tight spot. Costello saw no other choice but to put a contract out on Kennedy's head.